Fans of K-pop often dream of visiting South Korea, while artists of K-pop often mention other countries, foreign cities, and famous locations in their songs.
Seoul, the capital city of South Korea, is a common theme in many K-pop songs, showing the artists’ love for their home city. It’s not just international fans who are fascinated with Seoul, Korean artists also love to sing about it.
If you’re a fan of traveling, you can explore different parts of the world through pop music. Many songs mention various locations in their titles. Let’s take a look at 12 such songs and get inspired to travel the world through music.
1. AB6IX – “Hollywood”
The boy group from BrandNew Music made their debut in 2019 with the release of their first EP titled B Complete.
One of the songs in AB6IX‘s album is called “Hollywood”, which takes us into the group’s version of Hollywood, as sung in the chorus. The song has a hip-hop vibe but also incorporates some pop elements where the vocalists stand out.
“Hollywood” was the first song to receive a performance video from the group, and it was also the song they performed during their time on “Produce X 101,” but without Jeon Woong.
2. B1A4 – “Seoul”
B1A4 is a second-generation K-pop group that has an extensive discography. In their second full-length album called Who Am I (2014,) the capital of South Korea made its appearance on the last song of its tracklist. “Seoul” is an R&B song that features Baro’s rap flowing distinctly synchronized with the rhythm.
3. Bastarz – “From Seoul”
In 2015, the first Block B subunit made its debut. They sang about the city where P.O and B-Bomb were born in their third mini-album titled I’m A Mess. The song starts acoustically and then transitions to bass and electric guitar, culminating in the rap section. The combination of these elements creates a soulful B-side track that aptly represents its genre and name.
4. Dreamcatcher – “Sahara”
Dreamcatcher is one of the few girl groups in K-pop that features pop-rock as its main genre. They released their first full-length album in 2020. Dystopia: The Tree Of Language features the hot weather of the Sahara desert. The sound of the electric guitar in the beginning is a good indicator of what’s to come: well-played drums, a sweet yet powerful melody, and a catchy chorus.
5. Epik High ft. Suwoo Jung-a – “In Seoul”
This collaboration can be found in Epik High‘s mini-album Sleepless In __________. The track mixes the trio’s rap and Suwoo Jung-a‘s sweetness. Despite the lyrics saying that one is sleepless in Seoul, the song’s melody is quite relaxing.
6. Ghost9 – “Seoul”
GHOST9 is a group that debuted in 2020. Their album Now: Where We Are, Here is notable for its consistency even while featuring different genres across its songs. In the single “Seoul,” the group sings passionately about their capital city, accompanied by a strong hip-hop beat.
7. Lee Hyori ft. Killagramz – “Seoul”
Lee Hyori, former leader of Fin.K.L which was one of the most popular girl groups of the first generation of K-pop, has a successful solo career.
Her sixth full-length album Black features collaborations with several artists including Killagramz. Their track “Seoul” is a smooth combination of Lee Hyori’s sweet voice and Killagramz’s intense style resulting in a great low-beat title track.
8. Mamamoo – “New York”
Aside from their well-known pop and dance songs, MAMAMOO has many underrated B-Side tracks. One of them is “New York,” a track of the fourth mini album Memory. In this song, we can listen to the quartet sing a soulful song highlighted by an accompanying saxophone melody.
9. ONF – “Moscow Moscow”
ONF‘s fourth mini-album called Go Live features the song, “Moscow Moscow.” The song has a soul and ballad style with a touch of R&B and pop-rock instrumentals. Its lyric video features a Russian translation of the track which makes the watching experience a touch more unique.
10. Taeyeon – “춘천가는 기차 (A Train To Chuncheon)”
This song is part of Yoon Jong Shin‘s 2019 monthly project, a series of collaborations made to celebrate 30 years since his debut. He selected artists who were born in 1989 to sing his songs in their own way and Girls Generation‘s Taeyeon was picked to perform “A Train to Chuncheon.”
11. T-ARA – “Roly Poly In Copacabana”
If you’re unfamiliar with T-ARA‘s songs, check out their greatest hits album, Best Of Best! This album includes the second version of their hit song “Roly Poly.” Titled “Roly-Poly In Copacabana,” it was the single from the repackaged edition of their second mini-album.
12. TEEN TOP – “서울밤 (Seoul Night)”
TEEN TOP has an impressive discography filled with many dance-worthy songs. Among their many hits, “Seoul Night” stands out as a lively EDM piece that is guaranteed to sway the listeners into moving to the rhythm.
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Brumoiselle is a Brazilian girl who watched the “Tonight” MV by BIGBANG in 2011 and that’s what made her become a K-pop fan. After that, she was introduced to the “Bonamana” MV by Super Junior and her passion for K-pop became bigger. Since then, she has been transforming her passion into many important things, such as improving her skills in English, getting to know new artists, and learning about many types of music genres. She loves music, graphic design, and languages.
Media: As Credited